New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 14 - HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION
Chapter 7 - BUILDING CODES GENERAL
Part 4 - 2021 NEW MEXICO EARTHEN BUILDING MATERIALS CODE
Section 14.7.4.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. Amended soil means improving an unqualified soil to a qualified state with the addition of other soils or amendments.

B. Amendments means additive elements to soil, such as lime, Portland cement, fly ash, etc. which are "dry-mixed" into the main soil body as a percentage of total weight to achieve stabilization.

C. Buttress means a projecting structure providing lateral support to a wall. The buttress shall be incorporated into the foundation and wall system. (Refer to figure 1 of the earthen building figures supplement).

D. CEB means compressed earth block.

E. Count Rumford fireplace means a fireplace with a typically square opening with coved sides and a shallow firebox depth of at least 12 inches, but no shallower than one third of the width of the firebox. The fireback is vertical and does not slant forward. The throat is located at least two inches above the lintel and is a nozzle, rounded or streamlined so as to preserve laminar flow of the dilution air through the throat and with a cross-sectional area large enough to insure the elimination of all products of combustion.

F. Keyway means a groove on the vertical rammed earth wall surface for interlocking purposes. (Refer to figure 3 of the earthen building figures supplement).

G. Lift means a course of rammed earth, placed within the forms, and then compacted.

H. Nailer means any material rammed into the wall that serves as an attachment device. ( Refer to figure 4 of the earthen building figures supplement).

I. Optimum moisture means sufficient water (generally no more than ten percent) mixed into the soil to attain sufficient compaction.

J. PSI means pounds per square inch.

K. Qualified soil means any soil, or mixture of soils, that attains 300 psi compression strength and attains 50 psi. modulus of rupture.

L. Rammed earth means qualified soil that is mechanically or manually consolidated to full compaction.

M. Round-cap nails means fasteners that include nails or screws in combination with caps of at least three-fourths inches diameter or three-fourths inch square.

N. Stabilization, stabilized means qualified soils that pass the wet strength test under American society for testing and materials (ASTM) D1633-00 or contain a minimum of six percent Portland cement by weight. Stabilization is achieved through the use of amendments.

O. Wet strength compression test means an approved testing laboratory process in which a fully cured rammed earth cylinder is completely submerged in water a minimum of four hours according to ASTM D1633-00, then subjected to a compression test.